On “Wat U Mean,” Dae Dae raps about doing whatever it takes to make ends meet. It’s the breakout single for the Atlanta rapper, who’s now signed to hip-hop powerhouse 300 Entertainment. He wrote the while he was working in concrete and flooring, trying to support his family. He explained the process in an interview with We Out Here Magazine:

I had this big grinder and so the grinder be loud you know, and I’d have my earphones in. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I listen to instrumentals.

This particular day, I was freestyling in my head. So I was just freestyling and I just happened to think of two hard bars. So I cut the machine off and I pulled my iPhone out and I wrote them two down. I put the machine back on and start grinding, and then I came up with two more.

So I cut the machine back off and I wrote them two, and I just got to a point where I’m like you know what, I’ll just call my producer.

Working with Young Mercy, he recorded the song that night, rapping over beats the producer composed on the fly. The song became a regional hit in 2015 and went national in 2016, when Young Dro jumped on a remix. There was also this viral video, featuring a fleet-footed Uber drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsojudRLAC0